Recycled shelter

By Jennifer

I'm blindsided. I've lived in the same region all my gardening life, and have never seen snow this late into May. What in the world?!? The drive in junior high carpool this morning was long enough for rain to turn to snow on my windshield. The radio announcer noted the temperature as 37 degrees. I freaked out a little bit, knowing that my tomato plants were helpless naked beach bums about to be invited to a ski slope.

I had a double scramble when I got home: getting my younger children ready for elementary school, as well as coming up with ways to protect my tomato plants and other seedlings from the thickening snow. Thankfully, (as is my habit), I was a bit behind with gardening, so I'd only planted five tomatoes when starting my plot nine days ago. All the other seedlings remained in their flats on the patio. And since I also hadn't yet taken down my grow lights, I whisked the flats back indoors to those shelves.

 Yes, this picture is oriented correctly. The poor tomato plant is lying on the ground.

But what to do about the vulnerable plants outside? Apart from cottage cheese, I'm not a real fan of white stuff on my tomatoes. It's not the snow itself I'm concerned about really, just the fact that it's COLD ENOUGH for snow! An hour after my junior high trip, as I took my other children to school, the radio announcer noted the temperature as 36 degrees. Getting colder! Not good.

How could I have been so oblivious to the weather? Even as I was asking myself "Why didn't I cover my plants last night?" I frantically searched for a solution. My first choice was milk jugs, of which I found two empty under the sink, and another nearly so in the fridge.

I decided to make newspaper teepees for the remaining two plants. And wouldn't you know it? In gathering sections of newspaper I found the weather forecast:

Ah-ha! No mention of snow whatsoever. At least I wasn't off in the head! I found great satisfaction in using that very newspaper page -- and its incorrect forecast -- to shelter my tomatoes.

To make the freestanding teepees I stacked five to six long sections, then loosely folded and stapled them. That's all. I left a small opening at the top to allow some light and ventilation.

I prefer bottomless milk jugs over the newspaper teepees, because they are rigid and allow lots of light. You can also use the lid to close them at night, offering warm, greenhouse-like conditions -- but the newspaper teepees will do great in a pinch. If the bad weather persists I will replace them as I empty more jugs. So drink up, kids!

At least it's not all bad. My peas, lettuce and spinach will be loving life. Read here and here for more about cold-tolerant crops.

Homegrown Giveaway

by Mike

We appreciate all of the responses for last weeks giveaway of the book Homegrown by Marta Teegen. Using the random number generator on my IPOD I came up with the winner. Drum roll please.....and that winner is Penny of Black Sheep Cottage fame. Penny, please email us your address at backyardfarmingblog@gmail.com and we will ship you the book. You will love it. Thanks go out to Marta Teegen the author for providing this book for our giveaway.

As a side note, it is currently snowing here in Utah and many of the fruit trees have lost their blooms which is not good. Hopefully the damage does not end up being as bad as it currently looks.

In other news, I watched the LOST finale last night and I still don't get what that show was about but I feel like I was entertained.

We at backyard farming appreciate everyone who participates on our blog, whether it is reading, commenting, or just passing through. If none of you came to participate, we would not be doing it so thanks to all of you and we wish we could give you all a book.

Homegrown Recipe

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the book Homegrown by Marta Teegen.

And here is the recipe we tried from the book

Shaved Fennel Salad with Arugula, Avocado, and Almonds

3 Florence fennel bulbs
1 handful Florence fennel fronds, torn into bite-size pieces
2 large handfuls arugula, torn into bite-size pieces
1 avocado, halved and cut into 1/4" slices
1/3 cut raw sliced almonds, lightly toasted
Extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Use a mandolin to slice the fennel bulbs as thinly as possible (or use a serrated knife)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sliced fennel, fennel fronds, arugula, avocado, and almonds. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and toss. Taste and add more lemon juice or olive oil, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss again. Serve immediately.

Painting with Chives

Maya was sitting on the front porch and observed that our chives looked like little purple paint brushes. 

So we picked a few of those "paint brushes" to see if they would work. 

And they did.

I must warn you that it took quite a few chives to paint an entire page because they weren't real sturdy, and it took me a while to figure out it was my kids stinky hands that smelt bad, and not me. I was beginning to think my "imaginary deodorant" wasn't working any more.

Questions from Readers

Hey there wonderful readers! I have been asked 2 questions, neither of which I know the answer to, I have never had either problem. So, if you know the answer, leave a comment. 

 

QUESTION #1 

One of my laying hens has this white, very moist mess around her whole rear end and her anus is protruding out and has fell out and has sores on it. I cleaned her up in some warm water. Can u tell me what this is?

QUESTION #2

My chickens have been molting for a few weeks now.Do they usually lose weight during this time. My girls are looking quite scrawny and I can feel the breast bone really sticking out. Someone suggested a mite could be the prolem. Samantha

 

Book Review and Giveaway

Don't judge a book by its cover...unless it is the book Homegrown by Marta Teegen because not only is the cover beautiful, but the content is beautifully written.

Teegan goes over many of the aspects of gardening in raised beds, containers, and in small spaces. I really like her approach to planting the garden, not in neat and tidy rows, but simulating nature. I wrote plenty of notes in the margins so I can refer back to the book when I'm ready to start my garden in our next house.

One thing I thought was really interesting was the combination she uses to make up the soil. She uses composted horse manure, wood shavings, and straw with a touch of bone meal and green sand. I still have to research what green sand is!  I like this idea because it seems like it would be a heck of a lot cheaper than Mel's Mix used in square foot gardening.

There is a gallery of plants and produce where she goes over many of the different plants you may be interested in planting. For each plant she lists the best climate and site to plant, growing season, how much to plant, how to grow it, good companion plants, problems you may have, how to harvest it, and even how to eat it. 

To top it all off, Teegen is a chef and has included many recipes to use all the good grub you grow in your garden. We tried out the Shaved Fennel Salad with arugula, avocado, and almonds. It was delish!!! The combination of textures and flavors was just perfect.

This book covers a lot of the basics, so it would be great for a beginner as well as the seasoned gardener. Some days I feel like I'm a beginner even though I've been gardening for about 8 years and I still learned many new things. I'm so glad to have this book in my library, and we want one of you lucky readers to be able to add it to your library as well.

To win a copy of this book, simply leave a comment. Be sure to check back to see if you won.

Giveaway will close Friday May 21st at midnight. 

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Endangered Species Day

Friday May 21st is Endangered Species Day, here are some ideas on how to observe it.

• Read about the Vaquita: The most endangered animal you've never heard of.

• Go do the zoo to see endangered species in person. 

• Read this e-book to your kids (you don't even have to login to read it)

• Go to the library and check out books on endangered species

• Check out the top 10 things you can do to help endangered species.

• Have your kids do an art project on their favorite animal or endangered animal. 

• Plan a neighborhood clean up. 

• Find a documentary or video to watch on endangered species. 

• Blog about it.